1:72 T-33, 70 Training Sqn., 110CW, Greek AF Larissa AFB, 1991

1:72 T-33 of the Hellenic Air Force, the year 1991

A finished collector model in 1:72 scale. It is not a kit: it is supplied assembled, painted and with the markings applied, so nothing needs doing with it and it goes straight into the display case. The model carries the markings of a machine of a Greek training unit from 1991, that is, from the last years of this type's service in Europe.

The real subject

The T-33 was a two-seat jet trainer with a straight wing and tanks on the tips, derived from the first American production jet fighter. Greece operated it exceptionally long and its machines were among the last flying in Europe at all. It lasted so long because it was simple, cheap to operate and entirely adequate for basic jet training, even though by the year of its withdrawal its technology belonged in a museum.

How a collector model differs from a kit

A kit gives the modeler freedom: the colors, the markings and the degree of wear are his own choice and the result is one of a kind. A finished model, by contrast, offers the certainty of an exactly specified version, a uniform look across the whole collection and the immediate option of standing it in a display case. Collections of finished models therefore grow in series, where one machine complements the next.

How to keep the model

• Display it out of direct sunlight, which fades the colors over time
• Remove dust with a soft brush, not with a cloth, which abrades the markings
• Hold the model by the fuselage, not by the wings and the tail surfaces
• Leave it room in the display case so that neighboring pieces do not touch